This invention relates in general to socks and in particular to men's dress socks, but not limited to this category only.
Socks, for example, men's dress socks, are composed of various materials and are usually of dark, solid colors. Being of this nature, when a week's laundry is done there are many single dark socks which are difficult and tedious to pair back together. A further disadvantage is that in poor lighting conditions, as the early morning hours, it is very difficult for the businessman to tell what color socks he is putting on. A still further disadvantage is when a person has more than one pair of identical socks, bought at different times, it is difficult to pair them up based on the age of the pairs. Socks have previously been marked in a variety of manners for numerous reasons. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,104,892 to Thorneburg discloses a cushioned sole tube sock which is marked in order to show the proper wearing position of the sock on the foot. That is, the Thorneburg sock has a special cushioned sole formed of terry loops designed to be worn under the ball and heel of the foot. The markings on the sock consist of colored stripes which indicate the location of the terry loops. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 3,995,322 to Chesebro discloses a cushioned top sock having cushioning to protect the ankle during wear of a ski boot. Color bands are used to indicate the location of the specially cushioned areas of the sock and ultimately are used for proper positioning of the sock on the foot during wear. Swafford U.S. Pat. No. 4,034,581 discloses a sock having a plate and float pattern of manufacturing. Auton U.S. Pat. No. 3,181,316 discloses a method of weaving closely spaced diamond shaped designs into a sock.
It is desirable to have socks which are marked in a manner such that their color may be determined under most lighting conditions. Ordinarily, it can be difficult to distinguish between a navy blue, black or dark brown sock under poor lighting conditions commonly encountered when getting dressed in the early morning. In addition, it is desirable to mark a sock in manner such that a person who is unable to distinguish colors and shades, for example, a color blind person, can know the color of the sock.
It is also desirable to mark socks so as to indicate pairs thereof. Presently, it is impossible to tell whether two socks of the same color were originally of the same pair where more than two socks of the same color are present. In particular, this problem is encountered following laundering of the socks. Sorting of socks after laundering would be facilitated by the use of pair indicating indicia.
While the above listed patents provide various markings, none of the above patents in any way suggest the use of markings to designate color and pairs of socks.